Settlement pattern and the spatial organization of subsistence and mortuary practices in the Mesolithic Ganges valley, north‐central India

Abstract

This article evaluates a cross‐cultural archaeological model linking the rise of formal cemeteries among hunter‐gatherers to subsistence and settlement patterns, using the Mesolithic of the Ganges valley as a case study. Faunal data, including ageable deer teeth, and grave orientation in relation to solar variation suggest that the sites of Mahadaha and Damdama were logistically organized and residentially stable. The archaeological evidence thus supports the Saxe‐Goldstein formulation on the interrelationship between cemeteries and corporate group rights to crucial resources (aquatic resources in the Gangetic case). It is suggested that this economic appoach should be complemented by an understanding based on cultural beliefs of past societies.

Keywords:

• Mesolithic
• India
• Ganges valley
• cemetery
• settlement pattern
• faunal remains